Wheel for motor and other road vehicles.



PATENTED JAN. 15, l90'7 l EQ WELTON. WHEEL EOE- MQToE-AND OTEEE EOM)VEHICLESd APPLICATIQNFILED MAR.8, l906 1 elle,

'is a vertical section on the line l l of Fi OF LNDON, ENGLAND.

WHEEL FOR MOTOR AND GTHE ROAD'VEHECLESn' Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Jan. 1 5, 1 90'?.

Application file-i March 8, i906, Serial No, 304,973.

.To (M wim/uf t V/,r//g/ conce/ut:

lle known that l', FREDERICK WALTON,

engineer, a subject of the lling of Great Britain, residing at ll-:lHolborn, London, England, have invented certain new and usefulllnprcw'enients in or Relating to the Vvlheels of Motor and other RoadVehicles, of which the following is a specilicaticn.

This invention relatos to the wheels ol: inotor and other road vehicles,and has ior its chielC object to provide "wheels possessing theadvantages ol those `furnished with pneumatic tires Without beingattended by the disadvantages due to the liability of puncexpcnse ofrepairing possessed by the latter type of wheels.

According to my invention l interpose a pneumatic or other resilientcushion between the body of the vehicle and a hollow cylindrical portionor ring supported laterally cn hub or other appropriate part of thewheel by an annular ila-nge or the like attached thereto, ball-bearingsor the like being provided between the said cylindrical portion or ringand the said flange, so as to enable the latter to revolve freely withthe Wheel without, lim-.rever revolving the cylindrical portion or ring.The bodv of the ve` hielo is preferably provided 1Nit brackets,` havingat their free ends casings or dished plates, which bear against theouter or upper surface 'of the said cushions under the Weight or' thevehicle.

The parte are preferably so arranged that the position of the cushionison the outer side of the Wheel in order to facilitate inspecn or repairof the cushion and the parts L pertaining thereto. The said parts may,however, in some cases be so arranved that the cushion occupies aposition at t e inner side of the Wheel-that is tosay, between the wheeland the vehicle-body.

ln order that my said invention maybe cl ly understood and readilycarried into l will describe the same more fully with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in whiche- Figure l is a vertical section of aportion of a Wheel constructed-in accordance with my invontion. Fig.2'is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a acrtical section similarto l, but illustrates a modification. Fig. 4 g. 3. l

A is one of the side frames of the vehiclebody. A is one of the bracketsprojecting laterally from said frame and "having at its p cushion.

free end the casing or dished plate A2. B is the pneumatic or otherresilient cushionZ upon the upper surface of which the said casing ordished plate A2 bears.

C is the hollow cylindrical portionor ring which supports the cushion B.

D is the annular Piange which is carried by the hub or other appropriatepart of the roadwheel D and which supports the ring C through theintervention of the ball-bearings D2.

C2 is the axle on which the road-Wheel revolves, said axle (in theexample illustrated) supporting the car-body by springs C3 in theordinary manner. f

ln the arrangement illustrated lby Figs. 1 and 2 the cushion is ofannular formation and situated on the outer side of the road-Wheel, theparts .being hidden from view by a detachable cover-plate A3. In thiscase. the casing A2, which is bolted -to the bracket A', extendscompletely around the cushion, and the bracket A spans or extends overthe roadwheel D in order to reach the. said casing A2 and enable theweight ol' the vehicle-body to bear on the cushion. The annular flange Dis connected with the hub of; the Wheel by bolts d. The said casing' A2j'may be made slightly elliptical in shape in the horizontal directionand may also be'nade in two detachable arts,` meeting on a horizontalline and suitab together with parts. l

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the cushion is of segmentalformation and situated on the inner side of the road-Wheel It occu `iesthe upper portieri 'of the ring C, and tliedished p ate A2 is ofsegmental shape to correspond With that of the The bracket A instead ofspanning the road-Wheel lies W olly on the inner side of theWheel-thatis t0 say, between the vehicle-body and the Wheel. In thiscase also the annular flangeD is of greater diameter than that shown inlFigs. 1 and 2 and is connected with the Wheel by bolts d. In

other respects this arrangement is similar in construction to thatillustrated in Figs. l

and 2.

During the running of the vehicle the hollow cylindrical portion or ringC that su 1- ports the cushion remains stationary, t e annular liange Don the road-Wheel D being free to revolve Within it by means of theballbearings DZ.- lt will therefore be understood ly bolted or otherwiseconnected washers between the meeting that the cushion B does notrevolve, but remains approximately in the position represented in thedrawings .and absorbs the shocks which would otherwise be transmitted tothe Vehicle-body during its travel.

Although the rims of the road-wheels would preferably be provided withsolid rubber tires DX, as shown, it will be readily understood thatirrespective ot' the nature ot' the tires themselves the vehicle willpossess the advantages of pneumatic tires without the disadvantages oltheir being subjected tO the wear and damage which result when they runin Contact with the road.

IV heels suoli as hereinbeiore described will last a considerable timewithout repair, and the cushions can be easily removed and replaced byothers when necessary. Moreover, spare cushions when ol" the segmental'form shown i n l igs. 3 and it may be very conveniently carried on thevehicle tor use in case of emergency, as they occupy less space than theperipheral pneumatic tires at present employed.

I do not desire to limit myself to the use of a pneumatic cushion ol"the annular and segl mental shapes shown in the drawings, as the icushion could be composed of several hollow spherical bodies or olf' anyother suitable contrivance possessing the requisite amount olresiliency. Instead of arranging the vehiclesirings between the axleandthe body, as shown, I may arrange thein between thc cushions and theupper part of the casing or dished plate A2.

I ain aware that previous attempts have been made to arrange a pneumaticor other resilient cushion near the hub oi a roadwvheel with the objectof enabling the ordinary pneumatic tires to be dispensed with, but sotar as I am aware it has not before been proposed to arrange the cushionbetween the vehicle-body and a ring supported laterally on theroad-wheel in such a manner that it and thel said cushion do not revolvewith the wheel.

What I clairn, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

l. In a road-vehicle, the combination with the wheel, of an annularflange adapted t-o revolve with the wheel, a ring supported by saidflange and adapted to remain stationary with respect to the latter, abracket connected with the vehicle-body, and a resilient cushioninterposed between'the bracket and the stationary ring for the purposespecified.

2. In a road-vehicle, the combination with the wheel, of an annularflange adapted to revolve with the wheel, a ring supported by saidflange and adapted to remain stationary l i l l l l l l l l with respectto the latter, a bracket conn'ec i ed with the vehicle-body, and apneumatic cushion interposed between the bracket and the statioi'iaryring' for the purpose specified.

3. In a road-vehicle, the combination with f the wheel, ot` an annularflange adapted to revolve with the wheel, a ring supported 'by saidflange and adapted to remain stationary with respect tothe latter, abracket connected with the vehicle-body, and a segmental pneumaticcushion interposed between the bracket and the stationary ring for thepurpose specified.

4, In a roadwehicle, the combination' with. the wheel, of an annularflange adapted to revolve with' the wheel, a ring supported onanti'iriction-bearings by said Harige and` adapted to remain stationarywith respect to the latter, a bracket connected with the vehicle-body,and a resilient cushion interiA Vised between the bracket and thestationary ring for the purpose speciiied.

ln a road-vehicle, the combination with the wheel, oi an annulai lateralflange adapted to revolve with the wheel, a ring supported onantiirictionJbearings by said ilange and adapted to remain stationarywith respect to the latter, a bracket connected with the vehicle-body,and a resilient cushion interposed between vthe bracket and thestationary ring l'or the purpose specified.

6. In a road-vehicle, the combination with the wheel, of an annularlateral flange adapted to revolve with the wheel, a ring supported onantifriction-bearings by said [lange and adapted to remain stationarywith respect to the latter, a bracket connecterhwith the ve-.

hielo-body, a substantially annular casing connected with the Jfree endof said bracket, and a resilientv cushion interposed between the annularcasing and the stationary ring for the purpose specified.

7. In a road-vehicle, the combination with the wheel, ot' an annularlateral ilangl adapted to revolve with the wheel, a ring supported onantifriction-bearings by said. flange, and adapted to remain stationarywith rcspect to the latter, a bracket connected with.

the vehicle-body, a substantially annular casing` connected with thefree end oi' said bracket and formed in detachable halves, and aresilient cushion interposed between the annular casing and thestationary ring for the purpose speciiicd,

In testimony whereofv I have hereunto set my hand, in presence ol twosubscribingr witnesses, this '19th day ol' February, 1906.

Vitnesses:

'il Sniper il Anima, I'Viiixiitu J. tkicii'rnx.

IOO

